enjay Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 Okay, bit of a bizarre one here. We've got a new building going up over half term, being built off site and delivered flat-pack style and assembled in location. Someone (presumably someone who has seen ) had the idea that it would be cool to set up a camera taking a photo every few minutes and then stitch it together into a 2-minute film. Anyone have the first idea what we would need to do this, and how we go about it?!
sidewinder Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 If you have a Canon camera you could try installing CHDK on the SD card as that enables time lapse photography. Suppose the main problem there would be battery power, so you would need a model that you could charge with an AC adapter or via USB There is probably a far easier way!
Admiral208 Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 I did the same with our new school building here. I used Yawcam with a laptop and a webcam. It was easy enough to set up and then you have all your images to create a timelapse. James
mats Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 Old laptop, webcam (£20), tilaphos software (free, slightly strange interface, seems to be working ok). Watching new classrooms being build as we speak. Only downside of the webcam approach is the poor picture quality. If you can go the canon / chdk route, do so - you'll get the high speed clouds effect, amongst other goodies.
soveryapt Posted October 13, 2012 Posted October 13, 2012 The easiest way is certainly by using a webcam, if you can spend a bit more on one then obviously you'd get a better end result, but the way I've done them in the past is to use my Canon 350D with a timer remote connected to it that took a shot every x seconds (settable, just can't remember what I set it to) then stitch them all together afterwards - I used QuickTime Pro to do it as you can specify frames per second etc. Worked out quite well actually the last one I did. In fact .. this is it .. .. it's just of the cloud formations more than anything else, but I wanted to see how it worked out using the system above .. I plan to use the same setup for a few projects in the coming future ..
enjay Posted October 15, 2012 Author Posted October 15, 2012 We have a Canon 450D SLR and a laptop which I can sit by it for the duration, so it sounds like that is the way to go. What software have you used to control the timer, and how does the camera need to be connected to the laptop?
plexer Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 You have no webcams or similar? There are some pieces of s/w available to do what you you want with the canon what about when you need to change it's battery? Ben
enjay Posted October 15, 2012 Author Posted October 15, 2012 We have got a webcam, but (like most webcams) it is designed to focus on something less than a metre away, not something on the other side of a small field. As for charging, I was assuming I could leave the camera plugged in to the mains the whole time.
soveryapt Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) Hiya Right, I think that the Canon Remote Software that comes with the 450D onwards will do remote operation and timer remote operation. As for myself, I used on of these .. Timer Remote Control RS-60E3 For Canon 1000D 450D 500D: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo .. well, I say one of these, this is the same thing but with a different name - I got mine from 7DayShop but they don't seem to have the Canon ones on their site at the moment. I set it to take a single photo every 30 seconds and left it to it (changing the battery occasionally as I don't [yet] have a mains power cable). After that, I dropped them into Quicktime Pro using 25fps and the result (after I ran it through iMovie to add the music and titles) is what you see at the link I pasted above .. The one thing I would point out (something I only realised on the night shots that would have been on the end of the shoot) is to lock the focus on manual - seems a simple thing, but in daylight, the camera is fine, when it get's lower light levels it can be a bit funny (or even focus on something totally random). Edit: In terms of leaving it plugged in .. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0083VUV6G .. would do the trick for the 450D (if you don't have something like that already) Edited October 15, 2012 by soveryapt 1
Arthur Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) If you have a spare Android tablet or smartphone, all you would need is Chainfire's DSLR Controller app and a USB cable to create a time lapse via your EOS 450D. Edited October 15, 2012 by Arthur
teklogic Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Hi, We use a mobotix camera (cannot remember the model at present) mounted outsite, it uploads to an internal ftp site.
enjay Posted October 17, 2012 Author Posted October 17, 2012 As for myself, I used on of these .. Timer Remote Control RS-60E3 For Canon 1000D 450D 500D: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo So, I plug that straight into the camera, and don't need a laptop or anything, right?
soveryapt Posted October 17, 2012 Posted October 17, 2012 So, I plug that straight into the camera, and don't need a laptop or anything, right? Yup .. that's right .. captures everything to the card on board (so make sure you put a big card in and set the sizes to something more sensible than maximum resolution/RAW) and away you go ..
plexer Posted October 17, 2012 Posted October 17, 2012 Same thing a few quid cheaper: NEEWER Timer Remote Control RS-60E3 For Canon 550D: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo Ben
enjay Posted October 17, 2012 Author Posted October 17, 2012 In terms of leaving it plugged in .. PremiumDigital Canon EOS 450D Replacement AC Power: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics .. would do the trick for the 450D (if you don't have something like that already) So, that is something which allows me to plug the battery into the mains whilst still in the camera, yes? This seems like exactly what I'm after - now I just need to find somewhere to put the camera!!
enjay Posted October 18, 2012 Author Posted October 18, 2012 Thanks for your advice @soveryapt, I've bought those items so we'll see what happens. I'll post the film when we have it... 1
detjo Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 Does it have to be time lapse? Why not just leave a video\web cam to record the whole assembly process then reduce the running time to a few minutes.
AV_IT_ Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 Stick Magic Lantern on a 550d, plug the camera into the mains and make sure it doesn't get moved! Alternatively get a Go Pro and plug that in to mains. These can be made weather proof too! These will provide much better quality than a webcam and you can use manual settings and disable auto focus which will ruin a timelapse!
enjay Posted October 18, 2012 Author Posted October 18, 2012 Does it have to be time lapse? Why not just leave a video\web cam to record the whole assembly process then reduce the running time to a few minutes. Because I don't think our video camera can record several weeks of continuous footage...
AV_IT_ Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 Does it have to be time lapse? Why not just leave a video\web cam to record the whole assembly process then reduce the running time to a few minutes. Then you won't get nice fluid movements like you would with stills taken with a longer shutter speed
detjo Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 Because I don't think our video camera can record several weeks of continuous footage... Aha! that'll be it then! Then you won't get nice fluid movements like you would with stills taken with a longer shutter speed That makes no sense. How could you fail to get fluid movement when the video is capturing every frame?
enjay Posted October 18, 2012 Author Posted October 18, 2012 Obviously, this is going to require a silly amount of storage (I'm assuming I'll be able to swap memory cards out of the camera, so long as I don't do it whilst it is trying to take a photo). Is there a maximum size of card which I should consider for this? I remember a photographer friend of mine saying not to get really big cards because the access speed is too slow - is that still true, or can I just buy a couple of 64GB cards and run them on rotation?
AV_IT_ Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 That makes no sense. How could you fail to get fluid movement when the video is capturing every frame? Motion blur when using longer shutter speeds (perhaps helped with the use of an ND filter in daylight) makes the motion much more fluid and pleasant to watch rather than jerky/comical sped up video. That's one of the joys of timelapse surely..
detjo Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 Card speed shouldn't be an issue if your taking a pic every 30 seconds. The capacity of the card has nothing to do with the speed of it - i'd be more concerned with losing the data on a high capacity card if it failed (potentially, a lot of photos lost)
AV_IT_ Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 Get a class 10 and you'll have no issues (except cost perhaps). Recording a building won't require a short interval and so therefore the camera will have plenty of time to write, esp if you record jpegs.
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